Incorporating social media into your marketing efforts is essential in this digital world. While some businesses have decided to embark on this on their own, by assigning the task to their marketing department, others have turned to what they consider to be the most cost-effective solution – hiring a summer intern.
From the perspective of the Gen Y population, a “deep understanding of social media” or “experience launching viral digital campaigns” is what they do on a daily basis – updating their Twitter statuses every 5 minutes or creating new groups on Facebook.
Image: Business Insider
Sure, these students may claim they are “Social Media Experts” because they know how to upload a YouTube video or follow a Twitter hashtag. But, they may not possess the essential communication skills and strategy experience that are required to move your social media efforts forward.
Below we have listed some of the pros and cons of hiring a college intern or relying on rather than sticking with an external agency.
Pros
· If you are looking to bring on talent at the end of the summer, a summer intern is a great excuse to give someone a trial run before handing over a contract
· Summer interns can provide valuable insight if you are launching a campaign or your company target market is the 18-24 age group
· Low budget
Cons
· College students know how to chat with their friends on Twitter, but they often forget the purposes of managing this for a company rather than for fun
· Students may not be committed to your company the same way that an agency is, especially if they are not getting paid or receiving minimal compensation
· Agencies have worked with numerous companies with various needs, therefore they have familiar with best practices and understand what works better than someone who has only played with social media for personal purposes
· Summer interns require quite a bit of training to educate them on your company’s messages and core values
Interns are great assets for any business, but after you have spent numerous hours, endless effort, and invested valuable resources on building your brand online, it can be risky to leave a public media channel open to someone who is unfamiliar of the foundation of your company. Social media is your company’s face to the world. Make sure you know this face, and most importantly, that the face knows you and your company.
hat can be imbedded in an email marketing campaign. When sending out an email simply include this link, which tells the receiver to instead of just sending or forwarding the email, he or she should also make sure to share it with more people by utilizing social media platforms. Links to the platforms are imbedded in the email, which makes it easy for the receiver to spread the word about your products and/or services!